Equipped with an electric powertrain, the quiet Arc One lets nature dictate the soundtrack on the lake.
In the automotive world, electric powertrains are becoming more commonplace. Other sectors are slower to make the renewable-energy transition. One company aiming to speed up the process for water vehicles is Arc Boats, founded in January 2021 by former SpaceX engineers.
The Los Angeles–based firm’s first foray into the world of electric boating is the Arc One. A 500-horsepower electric powertrain propels the vessel to a top speed of 40 mph. Arc Boats has designed and built this propulsion system in-house, along with the boat’s battery packs, thermal control systems, and software.
If you’ve ever owned a boat, you know the pain of parts breaking left and right. With the Arc One, the powertrain was designed with fewer moving parts, which in turn means fewer possibilities of breakage.
One of the most important bonuses to having an electric boat is the power source. Boaters no longer need to fuel up at the gas station en route to the ramp or stop by a marina to fill the tank. Simply leave the boat plugged in while on a trailer or docked at your deck.
The biggest perk to going electric is the silence. When cruising in a boat like the Arc One, which accommodates up to 12 people, there is no noisy motor or smell of gasoline. Instead, all you hear is the crashing of the wake against the hull, and the air you breathe will be fresher than ever.
The Arc One will start being delivered to customers on the waitlist in fall 2022. Each comes with a starting price of $300,000.
This article appeared in our October 2022 issue.
